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TV companies are going crazy trying to mine film libraries for the next big television series, because why come up with an original untested idea without an established brand name title, right? I almost included the movie to television series trend in my 9 Current Movie and Television Trends I Hate article last month, but I decided it was too soon to make that judgement.

While I’m already tired of seeing the announcements, I really loved Fargo (and I really mean LOVED — it’s my favorite television series of the year), I’m still enjoying Friday Night Lights/Parenthood showrunner Jason Katims‘ About a Boy, and I know many people who really dig Hannibal,Bates Motel, and From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. So it’s hard for me to condemn it at this point. And yes there are also Gotham, Constantine and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but I consider those shows comic book adaptations.

You might be shocked to learn that there are currently over 30 television shows in development right now based on big screen movies. Which are good ideas? Which sound horrible? After the jump, I attempt to rank all of the movies being adapted into TV shows, by concept from worst to most promising ideas.

DHX Media, the company behind the Paddington film and in-development TV re-do of Inspector Gadget, is now working with Sony Animation to create a Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs TV series. The show will consist of 22-minute CG-animated episodes that follow at least the basic concept of the two films. But there’s mention of this being a “re-imagined” version of the two-film series, so things might be changed for the TV incarnation. Read More »

Phil Lord and Chris Miller‘s Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs contains so many crazy, fantastical elements that I never figured the story could’ve worked as anything but an animated film. I mean, c’mon. Live-action hobbits or dragons or space battles are one thing, but live-action hamburger storms would just be ridiculous, right?

But perhaps that’s just my own lack of imagination talking, because appropriately named YouTube user Megasteakman has reimagined the foodie tale as a 60-second live-action short, and the results are actually quite charming. Watch the video after the jump.

Briefly: It has been quite a while since we heard anything about a sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Last time we got wind of the film that Sony Animation has been developing, original directors Phil Lord and Chris Millerwere said to be attached, and the source material was said to be the Cloudy sequel book Pickles to Pittsburgh.

Now Variety updates on the project, saying that two animators from Sony Animation, Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, are set to direct a film that is currently being called Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. Both worked on the original film, so they’re coming to the sequel from a position of great familiarity. The film isn’t yet greenlit, and that’s all the info the trade provides. We’ve got no info on the script at this point, or of a timetable for production.

Couple of bits of info on upcoming sequels for you today. First up, Brent Spiner, who played Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation and in several movies that followed, might like to appear in the upcoming Star Trek sequel currently being written by Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and J.J. Abrams. Emphasis on ‘might,’ however. In an online chat to promote his new series Fresh Hell, the actor joked about a possible role in the Trek sequel:

I am thinking more about the next Star Trek movie and more about who can I be in it. I did this character Arik Soong [on Star Trek Enterprise], not to be confused with Dr. Soong on the [TNG], this was his predecessor. And I would like to start a campaign, maybe right here tonight, its called BBS – Bring Back Soong. And I want you to flood JJ Abrams offices with that: BBS, Bring Back Soong.

So: little more than a joke, but not the worst one. Better to have Soong come back than Data, who would stick out amid the Abrams versions of the classic characters. After the break, we carry on with minor sequel news with a bit of info on the sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Read More »

In this week’s /Filmcast, David Chen, Devindra Hardawar, and Adam Quigley assess whether or not Joss Whedon would make a good Avengers director, try to figure out what Summit Entertainment is trying to do with the final Twilight films, and discuss why the Green Lantern’s CG-only suit…actually makes a lot of sense.

You can always e-mail us at slashfilmcast(AT)gmail(DOT)com, or call and leave a voicemail at 781-583-1993. Join us next week on Tuesday night at 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST at Slashfilm’s live page as we review Kick Ass.

The public hasn’t had a chance to check out Ridley Scott‘s Robin Hood, which premieres at Cannes, but if the receipts are high, we may see more than one episode featuring Russell Crowe as the famous British character.

Speaking to the Times Online, Scott defines this film as an origin story, saying, “It is the beginnings of how the man becomes known as Robin the Hood…You don’t really get that until the last few minutes. When you realize that ‘Ah, this is who he is’. Let’s say we might presume there’s a sequel.”

From his perspective, the idea of a sequel seems natural. “If there were to be a sequel to Robin Hood, you would have a constant enemy throughout, King John, and you would follow his reign of 17 years, and the signing of Magna Carta could be Robin’s final act.”

Read the source for some great quotes about that semi-famous early draft of the script, in which Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham were the same character. Some pretty blistering comments in there about that take (“CSI: Sherwood Forest,” Crowe calls is) which makes the long development and rewrite process make more sense.

After the break, we’ve got word on possible films to follow Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Mulholland Drive. Yeah, I’m confused about that last one, too. Read More »